The Bible - The Mini-series

Don't know how many of you watched The Bible on the History Channel.  Was able to watch four of the five parts myself.  Overall, thought it was pretty good.  There were some parts either condensed or left out, but it would be difficult to get all the details and all the stories in within a 10 hour window.  They managed to get the overall theme of most stories out for all to see.  If it managed to bring the Word of God to just one person who didn't already have it, imagine Mark Burnett and Roma Downey would say it was all worth it.

To their credit, they didn't forget to include the not as good parts of the stories.  Moses was shown to be a murderer.  David's affair with Bathsheba was covered pretty well, too.  Paul's persecution of the early Christians was also featured.  Only problem I saw with it was the only name they used for him was Paul.  As most of you probably know, he was Saul until his experience on the road to Damascus.  Is a pretty integral part of the story.  Shows his rebirth through Jesus and all that.  But, the overall gist of the story of God using the person you would least expect to do His work came through.  Funny how that's a consistent theme throughout the Bible.  Almost makes it difficult for us "regular" folks to say no when God calls us to do something, don't it?

The Paul story also showed some things never change.  After he had his conversion, folks had a hard time with the fact he had accepted Jesus and was a different person.  They had a hard time forgiving him for his past transgressions, too.  Have to admit, when I see someone (most of the time some celebrity) say they have accepted God and changed their life, am ashamed to say my eyebrows go up and wonder what their angle is.  Do my best to look past it, but some times are easier than others.  Never root for them to fail, though.  Sad to say, have a hard time forgiving people sometimes, too.  Have always heard the expression, "I'll forgive you, but I won't forget."  My initial thought every time I hear it is how can you say you have forgiven someone if you won't forget what their transgression was in the first place.  But, I digress....  The point I was trying to make is Christians have just as hard time today forgiving people as they did 2,000 years ago.  Human nature, I reckon.

Overall, thought The Bible was very good and it lived up to the hype.  Doesn't happen very often.  When I found out two months ago that Mark Burnett and Roma Downey were involved with this, wasn't surprised about Downey but was a little surprised about Burnett.  Mostly because all I really know about him is Survivor.  Will look at that show in a slightly different light now.  Well done!

I'm Back!

Welcome back to my blog!  Not sure if I mean that for you or for me.  LOL  Anyway, gonna start posting on here again.  Lots going on in the world and I'm about to bust with some of the stuff I need to get out.  Hope you will check back early and often!

By the way, if you like to shop on Amazon.com, please feel free to click on the link to the left.  It will take you to the main page for all of your shopping needs.  If you're gonna shop on there anywhere, might as well go through my link!

Hope y'all are doing well!

The Empty Grave That Changed Our World

Hope everyone had a happy Easter this year.  Have said it before and will say it again:  Easter is the most important holiday in the life of a Christian.  It is what separates us from other religions because our Savior conquered the grave and it is now empty.  No other religion can claim that feat.  Every religion has a prophet or savior who was born into this world.  They also have a body in their grave....except for Christianity.

Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead so that we can eternal life after our time here on Earth is over.  Think about it.  God loves you so much that He sacrificed His Son so you can have enjoy everlasting life.  All He asks for in return is for you to love Him back.  There is nothing else we can do to earn this privilege.  While we will never love Him as much as He deserves, He will not hold that against us.  He will only deny us if we deny Him.

It's not that hard to love God and Jesus.  He doesn't even expect you to lead a "perfect" life.  So, what are you waiting for?

Vacation Observations

The family took a vacation recently.  Being a trained noticer, saw a few things that interested me along the way.  

Yes, we went to Disney again.  Took the four night cruise then went to Orlando for a couple days afterwards.  Thought I’d write a few of them down to get them out of my noggin.

  

• Had my first real parents-aren’t-hip faux pas during the trip.  My son and daughter were having a little back and forth about something.  My girl got a real good zinger on my boy.  I said, “Oooh, you got  burned.”  Apparently, the phrase these days is “you got served.”  Received a few hearty guffaws for that one.  Oh well, just the first of many I suspect;
• On the drive down, got behind a car that had an Auburn Tiger bumper sticker on one side.  The other side had a sticker which had a Rebel flag with “Fighting Terrorism Since 1861” written on it.  Have to admit was more than a little relieved to see my university was not on the car AND it had a Florida license plate on it instead of Alabama.  We lost the War of Northern Aggression.  Get over it already;
• Never really realize how much you use your smart phone to pass them time until you can’t get a signal.  Kept mine with me on the cruise for the camera.  Can’t tell you how many times I reached for it to look something up on the internet only to realize I didn’t have a signal out there.  We’re thinking about looking into the international plan with our provider for next year’s cruise;
• My son and I went to see a Braves spring training game.  We sat in the grass out in left field behind the Mets’ bullpen.  One pitcher out there was giving autographs.  My son stood in line with about 10 other people and got one.  When I asked him who it was, he didn’t know and didn’t care.  Looked the dude’s number up on the spring training roster and couldn’t find him there, either, which probably means he has no chance of making the big team.  Dawned on me how people want your autograph and don’t really care who you are as long as you are wearing one of those uniforms;
• Went to a pin trading event while we were at Disney.  Wife and kids had a real ball at it.  Didn’t trade for anything myself, but enjoyed the people watching.  Was a wide variety of people in attendance there.  Reminded me of the Cantina scene in Star Wars: A New Hope;
• While I was standing in the hour-long line for Soaring (we were there at 11:30 PM), it hit me how people can patiently stand in line for hours on end at Disney but they can’t stand to wait two minutes at Walmart.  Disney has trained us well… 

As always, we had a great time.  Have already booked a cruise for next year.  Gonna go the first week of June this time so the water will be a little warmer.  Can’t wait.

Y’all have a good one!

Hello, It’s Me Again

WOW!  It’s been a while since I’ve posted a blog.  Reckon that’s what I get for saying I would update it every week.  Still had the fight song from that other school on here. Well, the music has been changed and there are several things happening now that I feel the need to comment on.  So, if you are ready to see if I can get back into the swing of things, here we go:

• Want to start by recommending a TV show to you.  Almost hate to admit I watch Lifetime, but their show Coming Home is one of the best shows on TV right now.  It’s about U.S. military personnel returning home from various parts of the world to surprise their families.  It’s very well-done.  Odd how my allergies tend to make my eyes water so much during the show.  It usually features one story throughout the hour and includes several others during the course of that story.  Highly recommend you check it out Sunday nights at 9 central;
  
• Went away for vacation for a week and came back to a war in Libya.  Been interesting to see the comments around this war.  In my mind, it’s not much different than what happened in Iraq.  Had a looney tune running the country who needed to be taken out.  Just about everything the Colonel has been accused of, the dictator was guilty of, too.  Nobody has really mentioned the parallels between the two cases.  At least I haven’t seen or heard it.  Not sure if President Obama had the authority to do what he did (probably didn’t unless the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (look it up) is still in effect), but it’s gonna be hard to put the horses back in the barn now til it’s over one way or the other.  Hopefully we won’t need to send in ground troops.  One interesting thing to me is Ghadaffi, Qadafi, or however he spells it, said at the beginning Al Qaeda was supporting the rebels.  Have read several articles that say he may be right on that.  May end up fighting these folks again……just like Afghanistan….;
  
• On a side note, one of the best tweets I saw leading up to this was someone saying you know your president is looking bad when the French are being more aggressive than you.  That was before we started sending missiles but the French had already said they were prepared to bomb the Libyans.  At the time we were saying we were going to sit this one out.  How’d that work out for us?;
  
• President Obama has had several oxymoron moments this month.  Mr. Nobel Peace Prize has now gone to war (at least by his own choice this time).  Interesting.  He also received an award for the alleged transparency in his administration in a ceremony held behind closed doors with no media present.  That just seems like typical Washington-think to me;
  
• Food for thought:  Back when W was president and gas prices skyrocketed, conspiracy theorists were coming out of the woodwork yammering about how he was trying to line the pockets of his oil buddies.  Funny how you don’t hear those same comments now that the price of gas has doubled since the new president has been in office.  Wonder why?;
  
• Watched the HBO Inside Sports show on college football.  Have to admit it did not appear to me that the former players were lying.  Not sure if that’s cuz what they were saying was true or if they were having a Constanza moment.  (Remember what George told Jerry right before the lie detector test?  It’s not a lie if you believe it?)  Tend to believe there’s some truth to them receiving money cuz I believe it goes on at all (or at least most) universities, especially the big time programs.  Don’t know if the players should be paid or not.  Do know many of these kids come from less-than-affluent households so they have no money for clothes, shoes or many other essentials needed to go to college.  NCAA rules don’t allow them to hold jobs, either.  There’s no easy answer to this problem;
  
• Auburn is certainly paying a heavy price for their national championship at this point.  Can’t recall any other champions that have had so much turmoil this soon after winning.  Allegations of players getting paid, recruiting improprieties, starters getting arrested for felonies, alleged gang activities just to name a few of the things that have come out since they won.  Can’t enjoy their championship and hasn’t even been three months, yet.  Mr. Newton probably has a lot to do with this.  Inadvertently, that is.  People started looking closer at Auburn when all of his brouhaha started.  The NCAA’s screwy ruling in his and Ohio State’s cases hasn’t helped anything, either.  Have a sad feeling AU will be in USC’s boat in a couple of years;
  
• Been a crazy year in the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament.  Have heard some people griping about VCU and Butler making it to the Final Four.  Just can’t make some folks happy.  Most people root for the underdog but no one actually wants them to win.  Glad to see some new blood succeeding myself.  Although, seeing as how Butler played in the championship game last year, not sure if you can really consider them new blood anymore.
  
• Saw where Phil Collins announced his retirement from the music business the other day.  Hate to say it, but figured he had already retired cuz hadn’t heard from him in a while.  Was definitely one of the biggest names in music in the 1980’s.  Love his work.  No music from him this time, but maybe in my next post;
  
• On a lighter note, anyone else follow the Egyptian cobra on Twitter?  It got over 200,000 followers in just a matter of a few days, me included.  Whoever was doing it was pretty funny and had some really good tweets.  Hope they keep it up even though the snake has been returned to its proper cage now.

Well, that’s all I got for now.  Feels good writing again.  Will have to try harder to keep it up this time.
Thanks as always for making it this far.  Hope you are doing well.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the 2010 Auburn Tigers!  14-0, SEC Champions, and BCS Champions!  Way to keep things going for the SEC!!!  Gotta give Oregon credit for hanging with them, though.  They played a great game, too.  Exciting game all around.

 

(P.S. – This may be the only time you ever hear this fight song on my blog…)

Random Mish-mash

Well, the holidays are over.  Hope everyone survived them OK.  We actually had a white Christmas at our house.  According to the news, the first one in about 100 years.  Was very pretty.

Got a few things to get out of the noggin.  So, if you’re interested, here we go:

• The family went to Disney over New Year’s weekend.  Celebrated the new year and the twins’ 10th birthday.  Have never seen that many people in one place.  They reached capacity at 11 am on December 31.  The good news was, with the exception of one ride, we didn’t have to wait more than an hour for any attraction.  The fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom that night was the best I’ve ever seen.  Period.  Only had one real complaint about the whole weekend.  Rented a locker on New Year’s Eve.  When you return the key, you get a $5 deposit back.  When I returned my key, that particular register was out of cash and they gave me credit on my debit card.  I paid cash so I expected cash back.  After all, they had been raking in lots o’ cash all day long so know they had it there somewhere.  Anyway, the crowds thinned out starting on January 1 so the rest of the weekend was even more enjoyable.  The wife and I agreed we were glad we experienced it, but we’re not so sure we would want to do it again;
• The new Congress starts this week.  Hope they accomplish some things that get our country back on track.  Have read the Pubs are going to spend the first few weeks doing things that look good but don’t have much meat to them such as repeal Obamacare.  Before you start to panic or celebrate, President Obama has the power to veto any repeals so it’s not very likely to happen since there are not enough Pubs to override a veto.  Would rather they immediately get to the meat, even though I’m still not sure what their plans are.  Will hope for the best on that.  Also read they are about to take a two week break.  Wish I could take two weeks off after starting a new job.  Oh well, guess those pesky things like unemployment will solve themselves eventually;
• Speaker of the House Boehner cut Congressional staff budgets by 5%.  Some people have commented how this is only a small drop in the deficit bucket.  Reckon it’s mostly symbolic, but guess you have to start somewhere.  Looks like they are going to raise the debt ceiling again, which indicates spending will continue to increase.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Wish I could raise my debt ceiling at will like that;
• Saw where the Pubs are going to read the Constitution out loud during an upcoming session.  Wonder if anybody will learn anything from it?  Frankly, will be surprised if many of the Congressmen hang around to hear it.  They have too much important stuff to do than hang around listening to someone read our most important document.  You know, things like planning junkets to exotic countries, attending lunches with special interest groups, working out at the gym.  Important stuff like that.  It is a good gesture, though.  If it helps one representative remember they are there to serve the people, it will be worth it;
• Got the big BCS Championship game between Auburn and Oregon coming up.  Auburn is in the SEC and I like Oregon so it doesn’t really matter who wins to me.  Ultimately, my loyalty to the SEC will probably win out, though.  Think it will be a great game.  While Oregon hasn’t faced a defense like Auburn’s, Auburn hasn’t faced an offense who thinks they are going too slow if the ball isn’t snapped before the play clock hits 20.  Oregon definitely hasn’t faced a player the caliber of Cam Newton, either.  Won’t be surprised with either team winning.  Only thing that will surprise me will be a blowout by either school;
• Heard the Ohio State fans were taunting the Arkansas fans with chants of “SEC!” after they barely beat the 4th or 5th best team in the SEC.  Congratulations, Big Ten fans, your conference went 1-3 against the SEC, including one of your co-champions losing by 42.  Can see where you would want to celebrate that accomplishment; 
• Feel bad for TCU.  They’re undefeated with no chance of even being considered for the national championship.  More times than not, the BCS Championship game has had the two best teams playing in it.  In years like this one and 2004, you are left wanting a little more closure.  The NCAA says they don’t want a playoff because it will keep the athletes out of class too much.  The current bowl system stretches into the middle of January now.  How much more class would they really be missing?  Hope they will at least go to a “plus one” system in the next couple years.  We shall see.

Well, that’s all I got for now.  Going to get back to posting weekly again now that the holidays are over.  As always, thanks for hanging with me.  Please feel free to leave a comment or two.

Happy New Year!

A Few Thoughts

Well, quite a few things going on in the news nowadays.  Thought I’d take a few minutes to touch on some of them.  Most end on positive notes, especially the last one.  Hope you enjoy:

• After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, Congress agreed to extend the Bush tax cuts.  Never really doubted they would for several reasons.  For starters, why would they make 97% of the taxpayers mad cuz they couldn’t agree on what to do on the other 3%?  Second, the 3% make the biggest contributions to the campaign coffers.  Are they really going to risk hacking them off?  Wouldn’t think so, especially since a lot of them are in that 3%.  At some point, taxes will have to go back up, but consumer confidence is so shaky that this is not the time;
• Several things piqued my interest during this whole debate.  One is the Tea Party joined sides with the Dems and came out against the compromise.  Seems odd to me since most Dems talked about what loons the TP folks are back during the elections.  Guess they might not be as crazy as the Dems thought…for now, anyway.  Another is most Dems mad about the agreement aren’t really upset about the deal itself.  They are just mad it appears President Obama caved so easily.  A third thing is they decided to cut the Social Security tax taken out of your paycheck by 2%.  Don’t get me wrong.  Never disagree with getting more money in my paycheck.  But, does seem odd when both sides keep talking about how SS is going to be broke any day now.  Wonder which side will take credit/blame for it several years from now?;
• Looks like North Korea has decided the world has not been paying enough attention to them.  They’ve been keeping things stirred up with South Korea here lately.  They really have a good thing going.  Any time NK decides they need some attention/money, they rattle their sabers a little.  The big players come with money in hand to buy NK off for a little while longer.  Then they quiet back down again.  Attila the Hun did the same thing to the Romans back in the day.  History really does repeat itself.  If only all wars could be fought that way;
• Some exciting news on the battle against AIDS!  Doctors in Germany state they cured a man through a human stem cell transplant.  ‘Tis a great breakthrough and sounds exciting on the surface.  However, the doctors caution this was a one-in-a-billion thing.  The stem cells had a very rare mutation making them immune to HIV, and it’s not very likely this will happen again anytime soon.  Still, it shows we are making progress against the disease and there is some hope for ultimately defeating it in the future.  You can read more about the breakthrough in this article;
• Glad to see LeBron and the Heat are coming around.  Think Mr. James has taken more grief than he’s deserved during this whole mess.  Outside of Cleveland, think most of the backlash has been over “The Decision” rather than his decision.  The old saying is “Winning cures everything.”  Now that the Heat are on a roll and LeBron went back to Cleveland without incident, the negative stuff has started going away.  Things will probably remain calm til the finals.  The media will be apoplectic whether the Heat win or lose.  Even more so if they get knocked out before the finals.  But, that’s what sells papers and advertising;    
• Recently, someone burned down Birmingham’s city Christmas tree.  They removed the lights then started a fire with gasoline to separate the copper from the plastic.  Apparently Penguin and The Joker didn’t move far enough from the tree and set it on fire, too.  What has happened since is like something right out of Dr. Suess.  Within a week, someone has donated a new tree; a local company has donated security cameras along with monitoring; and, local citizens have been coming by with new decorations.  You can almost see the Grinch’s heart growing three sizes today.  With all the negative you hear about nowadays, it’s refreshing to see Christmas spirit still lives.

As always, thanks for reading my thoughts.  Hope each and every one of you has a great holiday season!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Giving Thanks

As you probably know, it’s Thanksgiving week in the US.  Just thought would list out a few things I’m thankful for this year.  Maybe some will make you think of yours. In no particular order:

• My wife and two children.  Because of my job, they have to put up with a lot of absences.  Yet, they still somehow manage to put up with me.  Tell people all the time it takes a special spouse to put up with someone with a job like mine.  My wife is definitely one of them.  Love all three more than they can ever imagine;
• My extended family.  Don’t get to see and talk to them as much as I would like, but we manage to keep up with each other in one form or another;
• God loves me (and you) even though I don’t love Him as much as He deserves;
• Live in a country where I’m free to worship God as I please.  Don’t have to worry about going to jail, getting executed, or whatever because I believe in God and choose to worship Him.  You can also not worship Him, if you choose, with no repercussions…from the government, anyway;
• My friends.  Known a few for nearly all my life.  Many it just seems that way (which is good).  Some only know through Twitter and Facebook.  Am thankful for each and every one of you.  My life wouldn’t be the same without you.  Hope to meet my online friends face-to-face someday;
• The internet.  Without it, wouldn’t be able to find all my old friends, make new friends, keep up with the latest news and sports, and the various ways we use it to pass away the day;
• Music and the ability to hear it.  Music does so many things in our lives can’t possibly list them all.  Tells stories, brings back memories, offers praises, and eases pain just to list a few.  A lot of the new stuff sounds the same to me, but still grateful for it;
• Anyone who reads my blogs.  Do this thing just to get the voices out of my head, but have to admit it feels good to know, every now and then, there’s a few people out there interested in what I ramble on about;
• Our government.  Yes, they don’t always do what makes sense and they catch a lot of grief (deservedly so), but, we couldn’t live in a relatively peaceful society without them.  While our government may not be perfect, there are certainly worse ones throughout the world;
• Veterans and their families.  Without veterans (and their support systems), we wouldn’t have the freedom to enjoy blessings we have.

Well, these are ten things I can think of just off the top of my head.  There’s many more but time doesn’t permit me to list them all.  Feels good to know I have so many blessings.  Am sure you have many more blessings than you realize, too.

Y’all have a good one!

Thank a Veteran!

Thank you, Veterans, for serving our country and preserving our freedoms!

Sure most of you know Thursday, November 11 is Veteran's Day here in the good ol’ US of A. The holiday was originally known as Armistice Day to commemorate the end of World War I, the (first) War to End All Wars. Well, since it wasn't, we now use the day to honor all veterans, whether they served during war time or peace time. Think most people would agree every day should be Veteran's Day, but it is great to have one day which is specifically set aside for just for our veterans.

These heroes walk among us every day. Many of our heroes are buried around the world because they were fighting for us (and our allies). Please take the time to thank our veterans on their special day. Also encourage you to lift up special prayers for them (and their families) whether they are currently serving (domestically or abroad) or are no longer on active duty.

We should give general thanks to each and every one of them for voluntarily (now, anyway) serving our country. However, there are some things we should specifically thank them for. So, thanks, Veterans, for the following (this is only a partial list):

• The right to speak freely without worrying about going to jail (or worse)
• The right to vote without fear of repercussions such as getting fingers chopped off, going to jail, etc
• The right to criticize our government
• The ability to criticize our way of life
• The ability to have a new government without military coups, bloodshed, etc
• The freedom to read this blog (and lots of others) without having to hide in the basement or closet
• The freedom to write your own blog
• The freedom to practice your chosen religion  
• The freedom not to practice any religion (though personally not sure why you would want to do that)
• The ability to sleep at night without worrying about our enemies attacking
• The ability to live in a country people literally risk their lives everyday trying to get here
• The hope that you can become a millionaire regardless of where you start in life
• The right to a free press (whether you like them or not)
• The ability to travel anywhere in the country you want anytime you want
• The freedom to learn how to read and write
• The ability to live a life where your biggest obsession can be if your team wins or not
• The right to protest (or sue) your government to protect your rights
• The freedom for Jimi Hendrix (a veteran) and others to put their own spin on our national anthem

These are but a few things we can (and should) thank veterans for. Please feel free to add anything you would like to thank them for in the comments below. Know there are several veterans who read this blog so at least some of them will see it.

So, again, thank you, Veterans, for all you have done for me and our country! May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America!

My Take

Well, every yahoo who can string together a few words is commenting on the election results.  Reckon I might as well, too.

Back when the health care reform was passed, lots of folks said they were going to remember it come November.  Looks like they weren’t kidding.  Not only did Congress pass a bill few people understood, they pushed through a bill they said had to be passed now or else.  According to polls at the time (and now, for that matter), a majority of people were agin the bill.  When people found out it was going to be 2014 before most of the major provisions kicked in, folks really got to wondering what the rush was when about 10% of Americans don’t have jobs.  Have said it before, folks ain’t gonna be happy ‘til there’s more jobs out there.  FDR figured that out and created several job programs.  Didn’t really help the economy at the time, but people felt better cuz they had paying jobs.

One exit poll I saw last night said people were mad about the economy first then health care reform then a list of other things including taxes, the war, and some other things.  Another poll I saw said just as many people were wanting to “fire” Nancy Pelosi with their votes as were wanting to send a message to President Obama they ain’t happy with his agenda.  Thought that was kind of interesting.

There are several other things I found interesting about the election.  In no particular order:

• Maybe it was just my perception, but seemed to be several media folks with long faces last night.  Not really sure what that means.  Can say I saw one Chicago reporter talking about the e-mails and tweets she was getting from the Dem party and President Obama asking the recipients to encourage people to get out and vote.  One can only wonder why she would be on those e-mail lists much less reporting on the content?  Maybe she’s on the Pub lists, too, but they just weren’t sending out that stuff. Yeah, right.;
• The last time the Pubs gained this many seats at once was right after Social Security was passed, which was very unpopular when it was passed, too;
• Was reminded last night if the Pubs do manage to pass a bill reversing the current health care reform bill, it will have to be signed by Mr. Obama, who has the power to veto it.  Just sayin’; 
• Many Dems wanted nothing to do with Obama during this election and actually called on Bill Clinton to campaign for them rather than the president.  Neither one of ‘em seemed to have helped much;
• Guess the American people didn’t really give the Dems a mandate back in ‘08.  Or, if they did, it was quickly revoked.  Voters sure can be fickle sometimes;
• Some exit polls reflected Pub voters think the gov’t is going too far and the Dem voters think the gov’t ain’t going far enough.  What a shock;
• All of a sudden, the Dems think both parties should work together rather than just one party dictating everything.  Imagine that;
• The Pubs claim they are not interpreting this election as being given a mandate…for now.  They say this is the American people saying it’s time to put up or shut up.  Voters ain’t happy with the Dems and the Pubs are the only alternative.  Imagine if they don’t like what the Pubs do the next two years, they’ll kick them out, too;
• California elected Dems in the two major races but weren’t so liberal-minded when it came to Prop 19, which would have legalized marijuana.  Got voted down by a purty healthy margin.  Guess they don’t want their weed taxed.  How anti-establishment of them;
• The Tea Party did fairly well.  They won some and they lost some.  Hear they don’t want to be a third party.  They just want to reform the GOP.  Think they would be better off splitting off on their own.  They’ve tapped into a lot of voter anger.  If their candidates in DE and NV hadn’t been so out there, they probably would have won those seats, too;
• Maybe it’s just me, but think the media is giving Sarah Palin a little too much credit for last night.  Yes, she endorsed some people who went on to win.  But, think people voted for those candidates despite Mrs. Palin rather than cuz of her.  Have my doubts many people will want to vote her into the Oval office as I heard insinuated several times last night.  Only time will tell…

Hope both parties learned an important lesson with this election.  While sometimes you have to show leadership courage and take folks down a path they may not want to go, there are times you have to listen to what the people are tryin’ to tell ya and change accordingly.  Ultimately, we voters have the final say-so on your job performance.  We the people have the power to pick and choose our leaders, and we ain’t afraid to use it.

Anyway, that’s what this yahoo thinks about the election.  Whether you are happy with the results or not, they are what they are.  It’s long been past time for folks to come together and find solutions rather than being hard-headed ninnies thinking they are the only ones with the answers.  If this bunch wants to be the latter, reckon they’ll find out who’s boss two years from now, too.

Y’all have a good one.

Time to Vote!

Just want to remind everyone in the good ol’ USA to cast your vote on Tuesday.  Thousands of men and women have paid the ultimate price for you to have the right to do it.  Please don’t let them have died in vain if you can help it.

Right after I moved to Daphne, AL, there was a vote coming up on raising some money for the library.  This old man asked if I was going to be voting.  Explained I had just moved there and hadn’t had a chance to register, yet.  (Forgot to mention I lived outside the city limits and couldn’t vote in that particular election, anyway)  He said, “Well, guess you’ll have no right to complain then, will ya?”  And, he was right in the big picture of things.  Anytime you choose not to vote, you give up your right to complain about how things are in the political world, or at least you should.  Country’s got enough people who complain.  If you ain’t gonna cast your vote, you are just as much of the problem as the people you‘re blaming.

So, please take the time to vote on Tuesday.  Lots o’ folks are saying this is an important election.  Every election is an important one cuz it’s gonna affect you one way or the other.  One thing about it: things ain’t gonna change unless you at least cast your vote.  Even a lot of dissenting votes sends a message to the eventual winner.  And, just for the record, even though I will not be in town for the election, have already cast my absentee ballot.   

Y’all have a good one!

The Tea Party: Good or Bad?

Gonna do things a little differently this time.  The usual reader knows I normally cover a variety of topics in each blog.  But, been seein’ and hearin’ so much about the Tea Party, feel the need to devote a whole one just to them.  Not asking you to be fer or agin what I’m gonna throw out there, but hope you’ll take a little time to think about it.  If nothin’ else, hope you enjoy this week’s soundtrack.

Saw a headline the other day asking if the Tea Party is good or bad for the country.  They’ve obviously been getting a lot of press ever since they surfaced a couple years ago.  Most of it ain’t been very flattering, either.  Generally, they are portrayed as angry citizens who are against anything that the government, specifically President Obama, stands for.  Both the Pubs and Dems are running smear campaigns against them.  The mainstream media is falling in lock step and pouring fuel on the fire that Tea Party members are nothing more than a bunch of nutcases.  Can’t really remember any stories that are portraying them in a positive light.  If you know of any, hope you’ll post a link in the comments below so I can read it.

Will admit that I don’t really know all that they stand for.  But, have a real hard time believing they are ALL loony tunes.  Think they were a little quick to jump on the anti-Obama bandwagon (think they started protesting him before he even took office, could be wrong about that, though), but that don’t necessarily make ‘em crazy.  From what I can gather, they mostly believe the government is becoming too intrusive into our every day lives.  Based on their name, would think they feel like we are being taxed without proper representation, too.  Although we don’t always want to admit it, these are two of the basic premises our country was founded on.

With all this being said, here’s a few things been chewing over in my gray matter about these folks:

First, would like to say I think the Tea Party is good for America but not necessarily why you might think.  Have said before there’s a lot of people in this country who don’t officially identify with either major party we currently have.  They basically vote for whoever, in their mind, is the lesser of the two evils.  And, even if a politician is elected with 60% of the vote, there’s still 40% out there who might think their voice is not being heard. (Kind of lends credence to that whole “taxation without representation” line of thought)  Unfortunately, folks who feel this way generally tend to tune out of political discourse rather than getting more involved, even to the point of refusing to vote.  To me, the Tea Party is a place for some of this “silent majority” to vent their frustrations, get involved, etc.  Anything which gets more citizens involved in the political process has to be a good thing.  After all, at this time in our history, less than 50% of the people eligible to vote actually use this right men and women have fought and died for us to have.  That’s a pretty sad statistic if you ask me.  If the Tea Party can get more people out to vote, on a regular basis, I say more power to ‘em!

Second, think they are good for America cuz they have gotten the attention of both the Dems and Pubs, especially in this election cycle where several candidates they’ve backed have won their respective primaries.  Both sides are doing all they can to discredit them.  Since they are agin big government and more taxes, the Dems don’t see eye to eye with them.  Since the Pubs are losing a chunk of their supporters to the Tea Party, they’re not real happy with them, either.  Neither party has been this concerned about outsiders since Mr. Perot won about 10% of the vote in the ‘92 presidential election.  That’s the last time both parties actually listened to folks besides their “base” supporters in my opinion.  It’s time for politicians (and voters, too, for that matter) to realize folks outside of their hardcore supporters have ideas, too.  There are a lot more of the “middle” folks out there than extremists of either party, too.  So, if the Tea Party folks will remind the D’s and R’s they need to listen to ALL of the people (or at least more folks outside of their inner circles), I say more power to ‘em again!  

Third, if they want to be taken seriously, they need to do a better job of checking out the people they’re supporting in the elections.  The lady in Delaware is really coming across as a whacko.  She’s the subject of more punch lines than debates.  (She’s a good example of someone both parties are railing against)  The dude in Kentucky comes across as a little out there from time to time, too.  While few people could withstand the rectal exam that the media puts candidates through today, probably could have found some folks that had a few less cobwebs (or cauldrons) in the closet.  On the other hand, given the state we are in cuz of the so-called “normal” politicians, could be time to shake things up a little…But, for long-term survival, you need to have candidates more average Janes and Joes can relate to.  So, this is definitely one area they will have to improve on.

Fourth, they need to find a format where they can get their story out without coming across as being angry and irrational.  This will be the hardest thing for them to overcome in today’s world of the soundbite.  Unfortunately, if your ideas can’t be condensed down to 60 seconds or less, many people lose interest.  And, the TV media ain’t gonna give you any airtime without a visual hook of some sort.  A politician speaking rationally behind a microphone don’t cut it in their world.  But, if one or two (or more) of their candidates somehow manage to get elected, you can bet there’ll be a lot more in-depth coverage devoted to them.

Overall, I think they are a good thing for America whether you agree with their platform or not.  Are they the best answer to all our issues today?  Probably not.  Not now, any way.  But, ultimately, they are getting more people involved in the political process, which is a good thing.  Who knows?  IF they can find some viable candidates (which may be easier said than done), they could actually survive and become a viable third party (or maybe even a second party).  After all, there was neither a Democratic nor a Republican party in the first several elections inside our great nation.  You just never know what may happen…If nothing else, maybe they will show some of our “mainstream” politicos there’s a bunch of folks who are tired of the same ol’, same ol’, and it’s time they start working together to get things done before it’s too late. 

Appreciate you hangin’ in here with me.  Like I said earlier, not asking you to agree with my thoughts, just hopin’ it will spur some of your own. 

Y’all have a good week.

A Little Bit of This…

Well, fall is finally in the air.  Football season is under way, the NHL is playing exhibition games, the temps are falling, and there are political ads out the wazoo.  What more can you ask for?  Got a few things to talk about this week.  Hope you’re interested enough to hear me out.  Gonna end on a positive note this week, too.  So try to stick around if you can.  Promise you’ll enjoy the last snippet.  With that being said, let’s get ready to reeeeaaaaaddddddddddd:

• Not gonna be able to run in Birmingham’s Susan G. Komen, a great and wonderful cause, 5K run this year.  Was able to run a 5K here a couple weeks ago.  Was sponsored by Time Warner Cable and $5 of every entry fee went towards breast cancer awareness, whatever that means.  Have had a tough time running in both races.  Get to thinking about my grandmama and mother both beating breast cancer.  Also think about my Aunt Trisha losing her battle with it.  Well, she always figured she was going to win either way.  She was either gonna beat the cancer or get to meet Jesus face-to-face.  Will always admire the attitude she had during her fight.  Never really care about my time or what place I come in during these races, it’s more about the cause to me.  Highly encourage each and every one of you to be sure to check yourself for lumps on a regular basis.  That includes you, too, men.  If you think men can’t get it, just look up Ace Frehley on the internet one day.  Might be surprised.  And, women you should also be sure to get a mammogram whenever you get a chance.  It’s been proven over and over again they detect cancer at its earliest stages, which is the best time to beat it;
• Ain’t political ads fun to watch?  They’re usually more about the lies the other guy has told than what the politician it’s about is  gonna do.  Think the best one I’ve seen is one about a politician who stopped a crime from being committed.  Sounds like he got beat up pretty bad in the process.  There’s an ad for him that talks about how this shows he has great character.  I think it’s great that he stepped in and saved the day.  But, part of me also thinks, if he had such great character, he wouldn’t be trying to use this to his advantage in an election.  But, in his defense, there’s no “I’m so-and-so and I approve of this ad” statement at the end.  So, it could be some his supporters have put this ad out and not him.  (Just for the record, though, his wife speaks in the ad.)  However, have noticed he sports a very obvious, bright white bandage on his hand in the ads he does approve of.  Sad thing is, I can’t even tell you what office he or his opponent are running for.  In my defense, it is an ad for a politician in a state other than the one I live in.  Only pay about half attention to those ads in my home state.  Pay about half of that in someone else’s state.  At least they’re trying to talk about his positives.  Have said it once, and will say it again:  if all you got to brag about is you’re not your opponent, you ain’t got much to offer, either;
• Been hearing a lot of yapping bout folks being disappointed that Obama ain’t solved the world’s problems in two years.  Now, ain’t a fan of the man nor his policies, but anyone who thought he’d cure everything in two years should probably not be allowed to vote again, ever.  Well, not really, but it does show the short-sightedness of the American electorate.  In case you ain’t been paying attention, this is a world-wide economic downturn.  We are so dependent on the world economy, there’s only so much we can do as a country to improve things.  Reckon we’ll just keep overturning our elected officials until things finally straighten out.  Our economy has always gone through cycles.  We are currently on a downturn.  Part of me thinks some of the problem is we’ve basically legislated out the depression phase of it.  Great prosperity has always followed a depression whether we want to admit it or not.  Ain’t wishing a depression on us, but my point is eventually the economy will cycle through this downturn and things will get better.  None of the legislation passed during the 1930’s brought us out of the Great Depression.  But, it gave Americans hope, which goes a longer way than just about anything else.  Most of the hope was created by creating jobs.  Can’t say any of the legislation passed in the last four years or so has given folks much hope.  Reckon that’s why President Obama is in such trouble, if you believe the polls, anyway.  Imagine it ain’t a coincidence they just announced the recession has supposedly been over since June…2009.  Not really sure how they come to figure that out now.  But, will say it’s mighty convenient it was announced right before the mid-term elections when the Dems are supposedly trailing badly in many races.  Maybe I’m just being overly suspicious, though…;
• See where Lady Gaga has gotten involved in the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” debate.  Think a majority of Americans (including our elected officials on both sides of the aisle) support doing away with this silly policy.  The problem is the language which does away with it is wrapped into other stuff which ain’t so good.  This is the problem most of the time.  Kind of like the debate which said the Pubs were agin extending unemployment benefits a while back.  They weren’t agin extending the benefits, they were agin the way they were going to be funded.  There’s usually more to a story than most Americans want to dig into.  Not sure why this is not just a bill in and of itself.  Would pass with flying colors.  Anyway, at least Ms. Gaga appears to be taking the issue seriously, unlike Stephen Colbert when he was called to testify about illegal immigration.  Read Congress will sometimes call celebrities to bring attention to a particular cause.  Not sure what knucklehead thought calling Colbert was a good idea.  First of all, they had to know he wasn’t going to take it seriously.  Second, this is a pretty hot topic right now so tricks shouldn’t have been needed to draw attention to this subject.  Nice to know our elected officials are taking things so seriously right now;
• Been lots of brouhaha about Katy Perry and her duet with Elmo.  Saw the video.  Think it’s much ado bout nothin myself.  Seems like the kids on lots of kid’s shows dress a lot racier than she did.  The Sesame Street folks have been doing this a long time.  Would think people would trust their judgment by now.  But, some folks nowadays just like to complain bout everything.  By her standards, her dress was pretty tame.  In just about every picture I’ve ever seen of her, she usually has a very low cut top on with a push-up bra shoving those things halfway up to Canada.  To me, it’s hard to tell she has any cleavage in the offending outfit.  But, in the long run, Sesame Street is getting a lot of publicity out this whole thing.  Proving once again that any pub is good pub;
• Heard an interesting debate the other day bout whether golf has lost it’s mainstream status now that Tigger’s struggling.  My man TK Stack Money (that’s Tony Kornheiser to most folks) was saying golf never has been a mainstream sport, especially in comparison to the other sports.  As much as it pains me to say this, have to agree with that statement.  Think Tigger has been mainstream, but not golf itself, least not at the pro level.  (Lot more people play golf than watch it on TV.)  Lot of people today don’t watch for the golf.  They watch to see what Tigger is doing.  Supposedly, TV ratings go way down when he’s either not in contention or not playing in the tournament at all.  Just proves they ain’t golf fans, they’re Tigger fans.  Such a shame, too.  Many people complain about the it’s-all-about-me attitude of many professional athletes these days.  Pro golfers are just about as polar opposite of this that you can imagine.  That’s both the men and the women, by the way.  I actually prefer to watch the LPGA cuz they show their personalities a lot more while they are playing.  It’s a real shame more folks don’t watch them.  Anyway, if you want to watch a sport where the players have honesty and integrity, take a little while to watch some golf on the telly.  It’s actually kind of relaxing;
• OK, here’s the positive ending I promised.  Ever heard of Ike Ditzenberger?  Well, you are about to.  He’s a 17 year old boy with Down Syndrome.  He goes to Snohomish High School out in Washington.  He also happens to be on the football team.  The coach promised Ike he will play in practice as long as he keeps his shoulder pads on and his mouthpiece in.  Every time he does, Coach Mark Perry closes practices with The Ike Special, a play where Ike gets to carry the ball for a touchdown.  Ike’s dream has been to score in an actual game.  Last Friday night in a game against Lake Stevens High School, Coach Perry called The Ike Special on the final play of the game.  Ike ran it 51 yards for the touchdown!  Now, Lake Stevens was in on it, and they let him score.  But, the defenders added touches of realism by “trying” to tackle him, even diving and missing several times.  Lake Stevens won the game on paper 35-6, but in my opinion, both teams won that game.  My hat is off to both coaches.  This is what sports should be all about if you ask me.  If you want to read the story and/or see the play, just follow this here link to see The Ike Special.  You won’t regret it.

Well, that’s all I got for now.  Appreciate you hanging in here with me, and hope you’re having a great week.

I’m out!

Are You Serious?

Every now and then, you read a story that just makes you want to say, “Are you serious?”  Sometimes it’s cuz you can’t believe what you just read.  Sometimes it’s cuz you have to wonder why is this a story in the first place?  Well, have seen a few of those this week that I feel the need to comment on.  So, if you’re curious what makes me say, “Are you serious,” here we go:

• Bunch of folks were commenting on Twitter and Facebook about the dad-blamed Video Music Awards.  Ain’t exactly sure why, either.  First of all, they are on a channel called Music Television, which don’t even play music anymore, much less music videos.  Second of all, seems like there’s some sort of award show on every other week.  Feel like we are in award show overload.  To me, the only purpose for most of ‘em is for the artists to pat themselves on the back about what great artists they think they are.  Third, the artists feel like they have to get more and more extreme every year so people will pay attention to them.  (Reckon you probably heard about Lady Gaga’s meat dress or Cher’s plastic body whether you wanted to or not)  Guess mostly just can’t figure out why folks make such a big deal about the awards when MTV has nowhere near the influence on music and culture that it used to.  Hoping someone will explain it to me;
  
• From the “Only in Alabama” department, some lady tried to set a roller skating rink on fire and to blow up the house of a roller derby coach apparently cuz her roommate and the coach were having some sort of dispute.  There’s barely any legitimate reasons to do something like that, much less over some stupid game.  That’s just plain nuts.  Hate to think what she would try against any opposing teams if they won against the team.  Imagine it will eventually come out she’s got some sort of mental deficiency (duh).  At least I sort of hope so.  Hate to think someone would have such little regard for human life to do something like this without some sort of mental defect.  Unbelievable.  And, all of this cuz of roller derby.  Roller derby?  Are you kidding me? Now, if she’d been upset over an Alabama or Auburn game…Just kidding, but sadly more Alabamians would understand why she did it;
  
• If you’re gonna wear your britches around your knees while packing heat, try not to get busted for selling marijuana.  Dude in Minnesota was arrested for selling pot outside of a local restaurant.  During the process of the arrest, his baggy pants fell on the ground.  The female officer reached down to pull them up and felt a pistol in one of the pockets.  The suspect tried to claim it was an illegal search and seizure and pled it all the way up to the MN State Supreme Court.  The Court disagreed and now he’ll spend some extra time in the pokey cuz of his baggy britches.  Well, in all honesty, sure the officer would have found the pistol eventually and am sure the court probably took that into consideration.  But, still, sort of lends credence to the old saying, “Drugs will make you stupid.”  Just glad the court had some smarts about ‘em…for a change;
  
• From the “Your Government Dollars at Work” category, read an article about how some of the stimulus money has been spent.  Apparently $823,200 went to a scientist at UCLA so he could study the effects of washing genitals after sex in South Africa.  Supposed to be about AIDS prevention.  Now, I’m about as much of a “big picture” person as you’ll probably ever find, but am having a hard time trying to figure out: A. what AIDS prevention in South Africa has to do with anything in the US; and, B. how this is supposed to stimulate the US economy and create jobs.  Guess you can argue preventing AIDS in Africa might eventually help prevent AIDS in the US.  And reckon the money did create (sort of) jobs for the scientist and his assistants.  But, still, don’t make much sense on the surface when that money could have gone towards creating jobs for people who have no kind of job at all.  After all, that’s what the stimulus bill was supposed to be all about.  And politicians wonder why the citizens have little to no confidence in their abilities…;
  
• Am glad the preacher in Florida decided not to have the Koran burning after all.  The better angels of my nature would like to think they never really intended to go through with it all along.  Reckon we’ll never know, though.  Did see a poll on CNN.com this week asking if they had the right to burn it in the first place.  Can’t believe this is actually debatable.  Of course they have the right to burn it.  But, as I’ve said before, just cuz you have the right to do something don’t make it right to do that something.  But, what really struck me about this question was the attempt to grossly oversimplify the whole situation.  This whole story was about ignorance, censorship, intolerance, and attention-grabbing more than anything else.  That’s one of the downsides of our freedoms: the media is a big part of the problem in these matters.  The preacher became addicted to the attention and the media just kept fueling him on with it’s continuous coverage.  But, if the press ain’t free, we ain’t free so reckon we have to put up with the bad so we can have the good.  Still don’t make their question make any more sense to me, though;
  
• Every time I got in the car today, the folks on ESPN radio were talking about something Derek Jeter did that was just so egregious they couldn’t believe he did it.  Irritating thing was they never would say what he did.  So, when I got in, had to look it up.  Folks, here’s what he did that was so bad:  he faked getting hit by a pitch.  Holy cow!  Stop the presses!  A player tried to get an advantage in a game!  Oh, the humanity!!!!  Turns out the pitcher threw inside and hit the knob of the bat (Jeter admitted after the game he had not been hit).  The umpire asked him if he got hit and he started flopping his arm around like Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack.  The Yankees were trailing at the time and he was doing anything he could to get on base, which is his job.  The next dude happen to hit a home run.  Yankees still lost the game, though.  Now, no-way, no-how am I anything close to a Yankees fan, but have to applaud the man for what he did.  Even the opposing manager, who got thrown out of the game for arguing Jeter didn’t get hit by the pitch, said he didn’t think Jeter did anything wrong and would encourage his own players to do the same thing.  The real rub to the media is Jeter’s a real media golden boy and they now feel betrayed cuz he’s just a competitor trying to win at all costs just like everyone else in the world.  Well, I say, get over it!  It’s called taking advantage of baseball’s stupid decision not to use replay more.  Nobody would be complaining if he had leaned into the pitch to get hit.  They’d be praising him for “taking one for the team.”  Not much difference in my mind.  It’s debatable whether either one is ethical, and getting hit intentionally is agin the rules, too.  So, chill out, Baseball Media.  You’re making a big deal out of absolutely nothin’;
  
• Finally, in case you don’t know, marijuana for medicinal purposes is legal out in California.  Well, for those folks who want the effect from the HTC but don’t want to inhale, they now have marijuana-flavored ice cream.  Article I read says every pint is the equivalent of about eight joints.  Said it is literally flying off the shelves of the places that can legally sell it.  If you build a better mousetrap…  Now, never had a hankering for mary jane myself, but have seen and heard about the mythical “munchies” the stuff can cause.  Reckon having weed mixed in with your ice cream might solve that little dilemma.  As the great Briscoe Darling, Jr., used to say, “More power to ya…”   

Well, reckon that’s enough for now.  Appreciate ya making it to the end of the mumbo-jumbo that are my thoughts, if you want to call them that.  As always, all comments are welcome whether you’re fer me or agin me.

I’m out!

Do What?

Been some things in the news lately which just make me want to scratch my head and say, “Do what?”  So, thought I’d share them and maybe you can help them make more sense to me.  So, if you’re ready and willing, as the late great Jackie Gleason used to say, “And awaayyyy we go”:

• See where Steven Slater has parted ways with his now former employer.  You may be asking who he is.  He’s the Jet Blue flight attendant who cursed a passenger, grabbed a beer, and went down the emergency chute as the plane was coming up to the gate.  People were calling him a hero.  Got no idea why, though.  Wonder how many people missed their connections because of that yahbo?  Figure they couldn’t let people get off the plane after that.  Were people celebrating the fact he treated one of his customers like *$&)?  Unless he was physically in danger, it shouldn’t matter what the passenger said to set him off in the first place.  Were they celebrating that the goober was telling his employer to take their job and shove it?  Isn’t that nice in these times where about 1 out of 10 people are out of work right now?  It just never ceases to amaze me how and why some folks suddenly become folk heroes for acting like idi-ahts.  Maybe somebody out there can tell me;
• A headline the other day said some cleric over in Iran says the Holocaust is nothing more than a “superstition,” whatever that’s supposed to mean.  Well, reckon it means he doesn’t believe it really happened.  Have never understood how people can deny the Holocaust.  Guess they’re idi-ahts, too.  Know it’s hard to imagine 6 million people being killed for nothing more than the religion they were born into, especially over such a relatively short period of time.  Met a man once who told me he was one of the first Americans to go into one of those camps.  The old codger started crying while he was trying to tell me about what he saw.  This was in the mid-90’s, almost 50 years after he’d been there.  Ain’t no way I’ll ever doubt it happened, not that I really doubted it in the first place.  Anyway, not really sure what prompted the cleric to talk about the Holocaust, but it’s hard to imagine a man of God/Allah could really be so dense.  Which leads me to my next “do what?” moment…;
• There’s a preacher down in Florida somewhere trying to organize a Quran/Koran burning.  Talk about something that makes no sense at all.  Even General Patraeus (you know, the big chief of our armed forces in Afghanistan) is talking about how stupid this idea is.  He’s got enough on his plate to worry about without having to think about something like this.  But, I digress.  One thing I’ve never really understood is how some people proclaiming to be Christians can be so intolerant of others.  The Bible is pretty clear that Jesus preached a lot about tolerance of others, don’t avoid sinners or non-believers, and love one another whether they are your friend or your enemy.  As a Christian, it just boggles my mind how some Christian “leaders” can’t see that they are more like a Pharisee than than a disciple.  Does God want us to spread His word and brings others to Christ?  Absolutely.  No doubt about it.  But, God gave us free will because He knows forced love ain’t love at all.  We are supposed to bring others to Christ through love and compassion, not hate and condemnation.  Maybe it’s like a quote I saw on Twitter the other day, “To some Christians, the Bible is like the terms of agreement, everyone checks the box but few actually read it.”  Certainly hope these folks change their mind and don’t go through with it.  Of course, that would imply their brains are working in the first place (Yeah, yeah, I realize the irony in the fact I am judging them…);
• Glad to see Hurricane Earl turned out to be a bunch of nothing.  But, the downside is all the media hype leading to nothing will make people block some of the hype out each time it turns into nothing.  Then, when the big one really does hit, it will be Katrina all over again and folks will get killed cuz they think it’s just a bunch of nothing again.  Reckon it’s a double-edged sword, though. They have to use the hype so folks will pay attention nowadays, which leads to overstimulation of the senses, which turns it into white noise, which leads to even more hype to get people to pay attention again.   Just a vicious never-ending cycle.  I always follow the storms on-line, usually on wunderground.com or the National Hurricane Center websites.  Dr. Jeff Masters has a great blog on wunderground.com, too.  Also use intellicast.com to watch the Atlantic satellite pictures so I can see which systems I think will develop.  The best thing about following things on-line is I can choose how much information to look at and believe.  So, if that kind of stuff interests you, check ‘em out;
• Well, football (yes, football, not footy, for any non-Americans reading this) season is finally here!  Glad it’s finally time for the games, too.  Had our usual Favre saga this year.  The dude I talked about last time finally signed, too.  Hope all we have to yak about now are awesome games.  Saw where Matt Leinart was cut by the Cardinals the other day.  Remember when he was drafted, all the so-called “experts” were talking about what a “can’t miss” prospect he was.  Same thing with Reggie Bush.  Ain’t neither one of ‘em had the kind of career people yammered on and on about.  Just goes to show how tough it is evaluate talent sometimes.  Always thought they were kind of overrated myself.  Could be a little biased about that, though, since I’m such a big SEC fan.  If the Boise State/Virginia Tech game is a sign of things to come, will be a great season this year!;

Well, that’s all I got this time.  Thanks as always for trying to follow my rambling thoughts.  Hope you are doing well, and, as always, am interested in your opinion, too.

Ya’ll have a good one!

Back To Other Stuff

Well, there’s finally some things I feel the need to talk about.  If you’re curious, here we go:

• Read an article the other day which says women buy and wear sexier clothes when they are fertile during the month.  It’s mostly done without much thought to it.  Guess it goes to show we are not much different from the animals after all.  Females in the animal world do all they can to attract males of their species.  And, much like the males in the animal world, men will drop everything and come a-runnin’ when certain things are being advertised, contrary to what the beer commercials want you to think;
• Been lots of yammerin’ bout this dang mosque they want to build at “Ground Zero.”  Should they be allowed to build it or not?  Even President Obama has weighed in on it, sort of, but, will get back to him in a minute.  This is what I think about all this:  Do they have the right to build a mosque wherever they want?  Absolutely.  If you’ve got the money and the land is available, you should be able to build just about anything you want to anywhere you want to build it.  Is this the best location for them to build one?  Probably not, but don’t know exactly what their plans are.  Maybe they’re going to use it as some sort of memorial to the 9/11 victims.  I don’t know.  What I do know is you can’t blame 9/11 on Islam any more than you can blame the killing of abortion doctors  on Christianity.  Just because there are a few nuts in the religion don’t mean everyone who practices it is a nut, too.  And, like it or not, our country was founded on the principle that folks could practice any religion they want.  That’s why the First Amendment says the government shall not establish one over another.  I can just about guarantee you Iran wouldn’t let a Christian church or Jewish synagogue build anywhere they want.  Do you really want to live in a country which acts like that?;
• Knew when President Obama spoke out in support of building the mosque, he was making a big mistake.  Know what he was trying to accomplish, but it was a miserable failure.  He tried to back out of it the next day by saying he wasn’t saying he agreed with the wisdom of building it there, but it was too late.  All those folks that say he’s a Muslim and not born in the US came out of the woodworks again.  This gave them the ammo they’ve been looking for, and apparently some people who didn’t necessarily believe them are starting to have second thoughts about whether they may be right after all.  First, think it’s been established the dude was born in Hawaii.  Get over it.  Second, he’s been a Christian for years, and, even if he is a Muslim, does it really matter?  A vast majority of Muslims are against the terrorists who just happen to be Muslim.  Even if he’s trying to be a subversive Muslim (and he’s NOT), there’s enough checks and balances in our system to keep him from being too successful at it.  In the long run, hope he learned he should think all the way through before he makes a prepared statement and make sure it says everything he wants it to say;
• Keep seeing how the Dems are still trying to blame everything on W.  You know what?  He’s been gone for two years.  If all you have to run on after two years is “It’s all Bush’s fault,” you must not have much to offer, either.  Besides you had control of Congress the last two years of his presidency so you share some of the blame, too.  So, how bout both sides start coming up with some solutions and stop blaming each other for the mess we are in?  Thank you;
• Football season is almost here, and I can’t wait for it to start.  Been following this whole Darelle Revis story a little.  For those of you who don’t know, he plays cornerback for the New York Jets.  When he signed his first contract, it was for 5 years at a little over a million dollars a year.  Now, after two years, he wants to renegotiate it and is holding out.  Part of me thinks he’s wrong cuz I’m sure he insisted on the five year part before he would sign it.  Understand they want some stability, but, why insist on a long-term contract when you know you will probably outgrow that contract in a couple of years?  But, then again, I also know the owners really have the upper hand in this whole deal.  Players only have a finite number of years to play so the sense of urgency is more on their end.  Owners can also terminate the contract anytime they want to.  That’s why the players insist on the guaranteed money in the contract.  I’ll just be glad once the games actually start so we can talk X’s and O’s instead of $’s.  Part of the reason I just enjoy pro football but am really a college football fan.  At least with college football, you don’t have to worry about things like contracts and whatnot.  You just have to worry about gettin caught payin’ them in the first place;
• On a positive note, see where Vin Scully has agreed to come back to announce the Dodger games next year.  Will be his 62nd season with them.  I’m as big a Harry Caray fan as there is, but I think Mr. Scully is the greatest baseball announcer there ever was, is now, and ever will be.  Can remember watching him and Joe Garigiola calling the NBC Game of the Week on Saturday afternoons.  Vin was the perfect straight man to Joe’s humor.  He also has an natural ease of calling a game.  Much like Keith Jackson is THE voice of college football, Vin Scully will always be THE voice of baseball to me.

Well, that’s some of the things on my mind this week.  Feel free to let me know what’s on yours.

Y’all have a good one!

A Little Bit of Fun

Time for a blog, but ain’t feeling very political these days.  SueMac on the Run had the following questions on her blog the other day.  Thought I’d take a crack at them just for funsies. 

And, awaaayyyyy we go:

1.   You have $100 to spend on a fun present for yourself.  What are you going to buy?

Not really sure.  Probably let my wife and/or kids spend it on something they wanted.  It’s more fun watching them buy stuff than buy stuff myself.  But, if I had to spend it on myself, would probably give it to the sushi chef and tell him to keep surprising me until the money runs out.  Always wanted to do that.  Mmmmmmm.  Suuuuuuushiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

2.    Accomplishment I'm most proud of...... 

The thing I’m most proud of in my life are my wife and kids, but wouldn’t really consider them accomplishments, so to speak.  More like blessings.  Think I would have to say the accomplishments I’m most proud of are every time I make someone laugh.  Very few things in life feel better than laughter.  We should all be proud of any time we can make someone laugh, whether it’s with us or at us.  OK, maybe more with us.

3.    What’s your favorite smell?

Hard to narrow it down to just one cuz have lots of favorite food smells ranging from my wife’s roast beef cooking in the crock pot to my grandmother’s apple pies.  But, if had to choose one thing to smell the rest of my life, would probably choose cedar trees.  Not the hard-core-knock-you-off-your-feet smell of a cedar chest.  Just the smell you get when you are standing next to a tree or two.  Love it!

4.    You’re dream car

A Jeep CJ-7, which for you youngsters out there, was the Jeep Wrangler before folks got excited about vehicle rollovers.  Have always wanted one.

5.    Favorite Season

Fall.  Just something about the leaves changing colors, the air getting cooler, football on Saturdays, and lots of other things that make this my favorite season.

6.    Favorite Way to Relax

Favorite way by myself:  Settin’ in the woods or on the water watching nature come by.  Hard to beat that getting-away-from-it-all feeling I get whenever I get the chance.  Hope to pass that feeling along to my children someday.  Favorite way with others: Vacationing with the family.  Don’t really matter where, either. 

7.    What was your favorite candy as a kid?

Anything with chocolate and caramel.  Always fondest of the Marathon bar.  Don’t think they even make those any more…

8.    It’s a cold winter day, you’re home alone.  Now what?

Put on a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt.  Wrap up in a blanket.  Find some sort of sports on TV.  Take a nap.  Might even skip step #3…

Well, those are my answers.  Feel free to share what yours would be.  Hope you’re enjoying the 80’s music.

Y’all have a good’n!

More Music Stuff

As some of you know, started posting song lyrics on Twitter and Facebook every morning.  Some have specific meanings, some are just for fun.  So, been thinking a lot about music lately (not that I ever really stop).  Got a few things thought I’d share with y’all.  Maybe you’ll agree, maybe you won’t.  Don’t really matter.  That’s why there’s lot of choices on your radio dial.  But, if you’re curious what’s in the deep, dark recesses of my mind, let’s get started, a-one, and-a two, and a-three:

• Know I’ve said this before and it really sounds a little crazy, but think The Police are really underrated by a lot of folks.  Every time I post lyrics from them, always get a reply from someone, usually bout how much they love The Police and their songs.  Yet, whenever a best-of list comes out, you rarely see their name on there, or, if you do, it’s way down the list.  They are the only band who’s elicited a response every time I’ve posted a lyric by them.  Just seems odd that they rarely get mentioned in the rarified air of the all-time greats;
• Whenever I hear “Eruption/You Really Got Me” by Van Halen now, always think about our trip to Sea World last year.  They played this song during their finale in the Saturday night show.  Actually had a live guitarist play Eddie’s parts and he was purty awesome.  That was one of the best vacations we have ever taken and probably ever will.  These songs will bring back warm memories for me from now until I can’t remember no more;
• A Twitter friend of mine, @sharongooner, took a poll for the best frontman and frontwoman in rock history.  Freddie Mercury won for the men with 21 votes.  Next closest person was Morrissey with 10.  And, just to prove my point on The Police, out of 145 votes cast for men, no one, and I mean NO ONE, voted for Sting.  Ironically enough, means I didn’t either.  Voted for Freddie and Bonn Scott (who tied for 5th along with David Byrne, Mick Jagger, and Michael Stipe with 5 votes each.)  Debbie Harry won the female vote.  Out of over 75 votes cast, she received 24 of them.  Next closest was Karen O (?) with 6 votes.  I voted for Debbie and Chrissie Hynde, who was alone in third with 5 votes.  Can’t argue with the overall results.  Thought they turned out pretty well.  Did show me there’s a lot of singers I’ve never heard of.  Reckon I need to branch out more.  If you’re interested in reading the blog, you can click on this link: sharongooner.  She also has the results of a poll she took on best guitarist ever.  Oddly enough, the two people I voted for in that poll also finished first and tied for fifth.  Strange…;  
• The Deadliest Catch team played some awesome music during the whole Captain Phil saga.  Thom Beers’ choice to play Johnny Cash’s “Redemption Day” during the montage representing Captain Phil’s death was flat-out pure genius.  His choice of “All Roads Lead Home” by Golden State for the memorial sequence was awesome, too.  Can’t say I’d ever heard either song before then, but each was the perfect choice for the situation.  The episode where the crews find out about his death is on right now.  Getting goosebumps and this is the third time I’ve seen it…anyway, I digress ;
• On the subject of depressing things, every time I hear a Nirvana or INXS song, think about how sad it is that both lead singers are no longer with us due to their own hands.  Don’t think anyone was surprised to find out Kurt Cobain had some real demons circling around in his head.  Imagine most folks were surprised at how he decided to silence them, though.  Have heard several theories about Michael Hutchen’s death.  No matter what led to it, it’s still sad such a talent ended that way;
• On a happier note, read that Roger Waters and David Gilmour had a on-stage reunion the other day.  Needless to say, the crowd was stunned when Mr. Gilmour walked out on stage.  They were the classic yin and yang pair of musicians.  Roger knows how to tell a story with lyrics and David can weave quite the tale with the guitar.  Not sure how long the reconciliation will last this time around, but hope it sticks this go around.

Well, that’s all I got this time.  Appreciate you taking the time to read it, especially if you made it this far.  If you know who Karen O is, would appreciate if you’d drop me a note about her.  Will leave you with this: 

Take your time, hurry up.  The choice is yours.  Don’t be late.  Take a rest, as a friend, as an old memory….

Until we meet again… 

I’m Back

Howdy, y’all.  Don’t know bout you, but it’s been pretty dang hot everywhere I’ve been this summer.  Definitely glad God gave someone the smarts enough to invent A/C.  Know it’s been a few weeks, but have been a little busy and haven’t really had anything just felt the need to talk about.  Now I’m all rested and recharged. Got a few things on my mind this week so here we go:

• Travelled out to Summerlin, NV last week.  Trip was great until got ready to fly home.  They loaded us on the plane then decided to fill the empty seats.  Trouble was, the computer was broken down so they had to fill the empty seats by hand.  As a result, we were 45 minutes late leaving the gate.  Now, besides the fact it was 116 outside, what’s really aggravating is they held up a plane with about 300 folks already on board just so they could put 10-15 more folks on it.  This resulted in about half of us missing our connecting flights in Atlanta, and seeing as how we got to ATL after 11 pm, there were no other flights until the morning.  Did I mention they were also out of hotel rooms and most of the restaurants were closed?  So, they inconvenienced about 150 people for the sake of 10-15 people.  Wonder how they thought that was providing good customer service?  And they wonder why people get are so angry at the airline industry all the time;
• Best part of my trip was getting to meet fishing legend Bill Dance.  He was on my flight out to Nevada.  He’s every bit the nice guy you see on TV.  If you know who he is, you know he always wears a University of Tennessee ball cap.  He had it on and even had one attached to his brief case for some reason.  Have watched his show since I was a kid.  It was a real thrill to meet him even though it took me a long time to build up the courage to talk to him; 

                                                   

• Went to Gulf Shores, AL, a couple weeks ago.  Great time to go.  Hardly anyone on the beaches, free parking everywhere you went, and a short wait at Lambert’s.  Media reports of the oil are greatly exaggerated (imagine that).  There was some oil there but it was just a thin coat.  You would think there was oil about a foot deep the way the media’s been carrying on.  If you enjoy the beach, but not so much the water, you can still enjoy yourself.  Many rooms have reduced rates right now, too.        
• Speaking of oil and the media, the local news in Mobile started each night with about 10 minutes of oil coverage.  One station even had “breaking news” about every hour just in case you somehow forgot the oil was still out there.  Think the worst story I saw was a 5 minute piece on a dead turtle found in the Intercoastal Waterway.  At the end of the piece, they quickly mumbled something about no one knows if it’s death was related to the oil or not.  Good grief.  Talk about stretching for a news story.  But, now that the oil has apparently been capped, the media will be able to focus on something new now…I hope.  Love how President Obama took 42 days to address the nation while the oil was still flowing, but it took him less than 24 hours to speak out after it had been capped.  Just sayin’…;
• Mid-term elections are coming up.  Wonder how many Dems will continue with the “It’s-all-Bush’s-fault” theme?  Pretty sad that’s all they really have to fall back on after two years.  Think the biggest disappointment to folks is the perceived lack of jobs being created as a result of the big stimulus package which was passed last year.  Part of me wonders if the jobs are out there but they aren’t the ones people want.  When the New Deal was passed, it created blue collar jobs.  Nowadays, folks want to tell others how and where to dig the ditches instead of using the shovel themselves.  Would think it’s hard to create white collar jobs out of nowhere.  But, the perception is out there that the Dems are more interested in handing out unemployment checks than creating jobs.  Americans always talk about being free.  Have to wonder how much freedom we are giving up when we always have our hands out to the government looking for our “free money?”  Got news for you, Folks, ain’t no such thing as free money.  Now, there are always some folks who actually need a helping hand.  Ain’t talking ‘bout them.  Talking about those folks who can be independent but choose not to.  And, in my mind, every time you take a handout from the government or give up a freedom to the government, you are becoming less independent.  Maybe I’m wrong, though;
• Anyone else watching Big Brother this summer?  Pretty funny they had this big “twist” all planned out by having someone play the part of a saboteur.  Bad thing was they were voted out the first week.  What’s even funnier is only one person even had a notion as to who the saboteur was, but the whole group took credit for getting them voted out.  Hmmm, folks taking credit for blind luck.  Sounds like a bunch of politicians, don’t they?  These House Guests are just about as interesting, too.  We have Showtime 2 now and get to watch Big Brother After Dark this year.  They haven’t really been all that interesting during the times we’ve sat down to watch them.  Almost like watching C-SPAN.  Hours of mindless blathering with a few good nuggets thrown in every now and then.  But, still feel the need to watch although I don’t know why…;
• Last week’s Deadliest Catch was the episode where Captain Phil passed on.  Thought the production team handled it about as well as they could.  Definitely proved why they’ve made this show as good as it is.  Have said it before, but it’s hard to believe how empty people have felt for a guy (and his family) they’ve never met in person.  Another sign of a great production team cause they’ve managed to let the real guy through without any embellishments.  Hope you’ve pulling up lots of full pots in Heaven, Capt Phil;
• Well, another real American icon passed last week, Mr. George Steinbrenner.  Whether you loved him or hated him, have to admit he changed the game of baseball forever.  And, you might not have liked his tactics, but he was an owner who was all about winning.  Too many owners out there nowadays who only care about the bottom line.  Mr. Steinbrenner also inspired one of the greatest comedy characters of all-time on Seinfeld.  RIP, Big Guy…

Hope everyone is doing well out there.  Appreciate you taking a few moments out of your day to read my thoughts.

Y’all have a good one!